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Elm > Trunk/Branches > Sawdust at base of trunk

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  • Image: Carpenter ants 1
    Credit: S. Katovich, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
  • Image: Carpenter ants 2

    Credit: R. Werner, USDA Forest Service

  • Image: Carpenter ants 3

    Credit: J. Hahn, University Of Minnesota

  • - CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE -

green arrowCarpenter ants
Componotus spp.

  • Excavate smooth tunnels in moist or decayed wood, creating coarse sawdust around openings
  • Galleries can weaken branches and cause them to break
  • Black or black and red; workers range in size from ¼- ½ inch long and queens over ½ inch in length
  • More information on Carpenter ants...
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  • Image: Carpenterworms 1
    Credit: J. Solomon, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org
  • Image: Carpenterworms 2

    Credit: J. Solomon, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

  • Image: Carpenterworms 3

    Credit: J. Hahn, University of Minnesota

  • - CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE -

green arrowCarpenterworms
Prionoxystus robiniae

  • Exit holes in wood are round and large, about 1/2 inches
  • Galleries start in sapwood, eventually entering heartwood
  • Large amount of sawdust in piles present at trunk base
  • Stout bodied moths, black and light gray mottled forewings as large as 2 1/2 to 3 inches
  • Yellowish white caterpillars with brown heads; 2 to 3 inches long
  • More information on Carpenterworms...

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